Impounding of buses adds to cab woes

At a time when over 10,000 cabbies were on strike, the Regional Transport Authority's decision to impound 125 shuttle buses over permit violations has left the commuter at the mercy of autos and city busesChetna Choudhry | May 08, 2016, 09:25 IST

GURGAON: At a time when over 10,000 cabbies were on strike, the Regional Transport Authority's decision to impound 125 shuttle buses over permit violations has left the commuters, especially corporate employees, at the mercy of autos and city buses. The shuttle buses are mainly used by companies to transport their employees and discourage them from using individual cars.

Gurgaon currently has five shuttle service providers. Their services became popular especially after the inception of Car Free Day, given the absolute lack of public transport facilities in the city. Nearly 40,000 commuters, especially employees of the private sector, were using the shuttle services per day over routes connecting Gurgaon with the rest of NCR. The seizure came at a time when the city was struggling with basic transportation facilities due to ban on diesel cabs and the indefinite strike by taxi drivers.

Earlier, the shuttle bus operators were warned that they should get proper stage carriage permits if they wanted to ply in Gurgaon and NCR. A stage carriage permit is the one under which a bus operator plies on a particular route consisting of stages where passengers are picked up and dropped. These buses were instead plying on all India tourist permit which did not allow them to pick and drop passengers at different locations within a city or contract carriages under which the provider can ply to a fixed destination.

For over a month, the RTA had warned the shuttle operators and also issued challans to the buses for permit violations. However, when they still did not change the permits, the RTA started impounding the vehicles.

"The reason why I stopped bringing my car to work was because these buses were offering a smooth ride to my residential area in Dwarka. I didn't have to drive myself in the heavy traffic and also could get time to socialise with other employees. Plus, I felt it nice to do something for the environment. However, I will be pushed back to using car if these buses are stopped," said Amit Sharma, an Nagarro employee .

"The shuttle buses are much safer and also affordable. But if they are seized, then the only option will be to go back to cars because there is no way I can travel in a city bus or share auto with strangers at 8pm. It takes double the time to reach home," said a woman employee who has her office in Cyber City.

The commuters, also citing the condition of government-run transport system, said that the RTA should check the permits of the vehicles before allowing the private players to launch in the city.

"I looked for car pooling from my home in West Delhi and also in office pool but couldn't get any. So Shuttl was a huge help but now I will have to look for other options like app-based car pools," said an employee from Incedo's marketing team.

However, RTA officials feel that the action is in the larger interest of the public. "We do realize that the public is facing some transport constraints and not everyone can board a city bus or shared autos. However, if they face any mishap while travelling in a shuttle bus without a proper permit, they will not be entitled to any insurance claims and other benefits," said Bhushan Kumar, assistant secretary, RTA.

While the commuters found the shuttle buses to be a good platform for networking and for a relaxed journey to home than driving themselves, the shuttle bus companies felt that they were doing their best to facilitate the public."We have people making a month's booking in advance which shows that if suddenly so many shuttle buses are off the road, then the commuters will face inconvenience. Shuttles help curtail global warming, ease public transport system and are economical. Hence we want the government to make them legally permissible because it is just an amendment on the paper," said Nitin Chanan, co-founder, Meri Bus.com.

"At Shuttl, our attempt is to fill that void and provide a dignified way of commuting. We choose to do it through AC buses as buses are the most space efficient and cost efficient way of moving people within cities. In the process, we help in reducing congestion and possibly pollution," said Amit Singh, co-founder, Shuttl.